White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest released this statement Thursday night regarding Malaysian Airlines Flight 17, with a call for a ceasefire between Russia, Ukraine, and pro-Russia separatists, in order for a full investigation of the evidence to be conducted. The statement also clearly puts the responsibility on Russia to take these actions, after having substantially aided the separatists, in contrast to a much clearer trust in the Ukrainian government. --Eric Kleefeld

The United States is shocked by the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17, and we offer our deep condolences to all those who lost loved ones on board. We continue to seek information to determine whether there were any American citizens on board.

It is critical that there be a full, credible, and unimpeded international investigation as quickly as possible. We urge all concerned – Russia, the pro-Russian separatists, and Ukraine – to support an immediate cease-fire in order to ensure safe and unfettered access to the crash site for international investigators and in order to facilitate the recovery of remains. The role of international organizations – such as the United Nations and the OSCE in Ukraine – may be particularly relevant for this effort, and we will be in touch with affected nations and our partners in these organizations in the coming hours and days to determine the best path forward. In the meantime, it is vital that no evidence be tampered with in any way and that all potential evidence and remains at the crash site are undisturbed. The United States remains prepared to contribute immediate assistance to any international investigation, including through resources provided by the NTSB and the FBI.

While we do not yet have all the facts, we do know that this incident occurred in the context of a crisis in Ukraine that is fueled by Russian support for the separatists, including through arms, materiel, and training. This incident only highlights the urgency with which we continue to urge Russia to immediately take concrete steps to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine and to support a sustainable cease-fire and path toward peace that the Ukrainian government has consistently put forward. [The White House]

Saudi Arabia will allow women to drive beginning in June of next year, the kingdom announced Tuesday. The extremely conservative country, which is ruled according to Shariah law, has justified its ban on religious grounds for years.

To get around, Saudi women have relied on private cabs or Uber, which can get costly and discourage them from taking a job that requires expensive travel to get to work, The New York Times reports.

The kingdom's decision comes as Saudi Arabia is trying to change its reputation abroad, but making the switch will not be easy: "The kingdom has no infrastructure for women to learn to drive or to obtain drivers licenses," The New York Times writes. "The police will need to be trained to interact with women in a way that they rarely do in a society where men and women who are not related rarely interact." Jeva Lange

President Trump's former adviser and longtime friend Roger Stone characterized his conversations with a Russian government-linked hacker as being "limited" and "benign" after appearing before the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reports.

As part of his defense, Stone also released screenshots of his August and September 2016 conversations with the entity Guccifer 2.0, an alias that took credit for hacking the Democratic National Committee. U.S. officials have linked Guccifer 2.0's materials to Russian government hackers. In August 2016, Stone argued for Breitbart News that Guccifer 2.0 acted alone and was not working with the Russian government.

[…] Mr. Stone sent a private Twitter message to the Guccifer 2.0 account, saying he was "delighted" the entity was back on Twitter, according to the material he released. Twitter had briefly suspended the account.

"F--- the state and their MSM lackeys," Mr. Stone added, using a common disparaging term for the mainstream media.

According to Mr. Stone's release, Guccifer 2.0 responded: "thank u for writing back, and thank u for an article about me!!!" The entity then asked if Mr. Stone found anything interesting in the documents posted — a question to which Mr. Stone’s release suggests he didn’t reply. [The Wall Street Journal]

The screenshots indicate that Guccifer 2.0 attempted several more times to talk to Stone although Stone offered limited replies.

"[Stone's] significance starts and ends with the question as to whether he worked with Russians while they were interfering in our election," Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) told Mother Jones on Monday before the hearing. "He demonstrated at least a willingness to work with the Russians. Was this just willingness or was this an active working relationship? That is still unresolved." Jeva Lange

Iraqi Kurds have voted in favor of a referendum for their independence, the Kurdish region's president, Masoud Barzani, announced Tuesday.

Countries in the region viewed the Kurdish vote with hostility. Iraq was opposed to the vote because a redrawing of its borders to accommodate Kurdistan would mean the loss of its oil-rich northern territory. In Iran and Turkey, "leaders feared the move would embolden their own Kurdish populations," The Associated Press reports.

Barzani declared Kurdistan would be "diverse and democratic," Al-Hayat's Joy Karamreports. Barzani said Sunday, ahead of the vote, that "we are ready to pay any price for our independence."

"We will take measures to safeguard the nation's unity and protect all Iraqis," Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi warned in response.

The Kurds have been a major regional ally for the United States in the fight against the Islamic State, although America opposed their vote, citing the threat of "instability and discord." In fighting ISIS, though, Kurdish forces captured territory they claim they have a right to, including northwestern Iraq and the Iranian border to the east, AP adds.

"I feel so great and happy. I feel we'll be free," said one Kurd, Suad Pirot of Kirkuk, after voting on Monday. "Nobody will rule us. We will be independent." Jeva Lange

Senate Republicans decided Tuesday that they will not vote on their health-care bill after efforts to garner support for the legislation fell short, Politico reports.

The bill, named for co-sponsors Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.), appeared doomed on Monday when moderate Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) joined conservative Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in opposition. With three Republicans as solid no votes, the GOP can't muster the 50 votes it would need to pass the proposal with the help of Vice President Mike Pence as a tie-breaking vote. Republicans have a Sept. 30 deadline for passing a health-care bill with only 50 votes, with no Democrats.

In a speech Tuesday, Graham said he has not given up on the bill. "We're coming back to [health care] after taxes," he said. Watch below. Jeva Lange

North Korean government officials have been reaching out to Republican analysts in Washington to try to get a better read on what is going on in President Trump's head,The Washington Post reports. "My own guess is that they are somewhat puzzled as to the direction in which the U.S. is going, so they're trying to open up channels to take the pulse in Washington," former State Department official Evans Revere told the Post. "They haven't seen the U.S. act like this before."

Bruce Klingner, a North Korea expert who is now with the Heritage Foundation, said that Pyongyang reached out to him but he declined their invitation. Still, Klingner observed the country is "on a new binge of reaching out to American scholars and ex-officials."

At a recent meeting at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy in Switzerland, North Koreans attendees additionally "displayed an 'encyclopedic' knowledge of Trump's tweets, to the extent that they were able to quote them back to the Americans present." But as anyone who has tried to parse Trump's tweets and actions knows, just following the president on Twitter doesn't necessarily give any insight into what he might say or do next.

The U.S. has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years. Talking is not the answer!

Reflecting North Korean officials' confusion are the questions they're bringing to Americans: "Why, for instance, are Trump's top officials, notably Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, directly contradicting the president so often?" The Washington Post writes as one example. Read the full report at the Post. Jeva Lange

The FBI arrested assistant basketball coaches at four NCAA Division I universities — Arizona, Oklahoma State, Southern California, and Auburn — overnight on charges of taking cash bribes "to deliver star athletes to a financial adviser or an agent," NBC News reports. Six other people were also charged, including a senior executive at Adidas, managers, and financial advisers.

One of the coaches, Chuck Person of Auburn University, played for 13 years in the NBA. Person stands accused of accepting approximately $50,000 "in return for his agreeing to direct certain of the school's players to [a particular] adviser when they entered the NBA," The New York Times reports. The adviser, who is unnamed in the complaint, is reportedly cooperating with the government.

Lamont Evans of Oklahoma State, Emanuel Richardson of Arizona, and Tony Bland of USC are also accused of accepting money to funnel certain players to specific agents. "Many … coaches have enormous influence over the student-athletes who play for them, in particular with respect to guiding those student-athletes through the process of selecting agents and other advisers when they prepare to leave college and enter the NBA," the complaint said, as reported by ESPN. "The investigation has revealed several instances in which coaches have exercised that influence by steering players and their families to retain particular advisers, not because of the merits of those advisers, but because the coaches were being bribed by the advisers to do so."

Awaiting a press conference in New York where U.S. Attorney Joon Kim will break down the NCAA corruption schemes. The flow chart: pic.twitter.com/blEb2NGnoK

Additionally, Adidas' head of global sports marketing, James Gatto, stands accused of paying $100,000 to a family to send their son to what details indicate was the University of Louisville. The indictment "says contemporary news accounts described [the player's] college decision, announced this past June, as a surprise" and that "this summer, Louisville signed a 10-year, $160 million apparel contract with Adidas," the Times writes. Jeva Lange

The GOP plans to raise the lowest individual tax rate from 10 percent to 12 percent while dropping the tax rate for the wealthiest Americans from 39.6 percent to 35 percent, Axios reports, based on conversations with five senior Republicans.

The White House intends to sell the plan as a "tax cut" for the middle class by doubling the standard deduction, which will leave many people paying no taxes: "The standard deduction would almost double to $12,000 for a single filer and $24,000 for married couples, meaning Trump can accurately argue that many more low-income earners would pay no tax under his plan," Axios writes. The seven tax brackets would be collapsed down to three.

"We have a tax plan that is totally finalized," Trump boasted Sunday. "I think it'll be terrific. I think it's going to go through." While Trump will introduce the proposal in Indiana on Wednesday, he is expected to leave details intentionally vague so congressional tax-writing committees have the flexibility to negotiate and maneuver. Read the full scoop at Axios. Jeva Lange